All this talk of trade...

[Playmaker0017]

All this talk of trade begs me to ask a very simple question:

What exactly is the Hawks problem?

I believe it to be that we don't have enough ball handlers on the floor. I also believed we don't have anyone that can reliably initiate and run the offense.

Points to back me up:

* We have JT, who despite his speed appeal, he can't see the lane. He can't make the transition pass until it is too late. He might be able to develop, but I doubt it. He wasn't great at it last year either. We just had two more ball handlers in Kukoc and Dermarr.

* Big Dog can't handle the ball. Period. Need anyone say more?

* Shareef, while a decent ball handler, should NOT initiate the offense. The offense should run thorugh him, for getting others open. But he should not be asked to RUN the offense for extended periods of time.

* Ira. Come on. Ira?

* Wilks. Nothing this kid has shown me tells me this kid can RUN the offense. He is better than anything we have, but that isn't saying much. I don't think he is the longterm answer to a VERY important position.

* Dickau, well... who knows what he can do. But, we certainly can't hedge the organization on the outside chance he could deliver.

* No one else worth mentioning can handle the ball. Theo, Glover -- both ball hogs who couldn't/wouldn't pass if it were to save a life.

* Dermarr. I think we were a better team with him. He was an above-average defender (which made him All-Star on the Hawks roster) and could dribble. He could occationally be relied on to hit the long jumper. I think his loss hurts more than we care to admit.

* I think a third of our defensive problems come from our inability to initiate the offense properly. It turns into fast break opportunities. We either have EVERYONE crash the boards or some dumb three that rims off into the fast break...

Another problem I see is that we have positions being utilized incorrectly.

What do you guys think is our most glaring weakness?

Yes, we all know defense is a problem. But, when we talk trade for a PG, we aren't only talking about defense. We have some SERIOUS deficiencies on the offensive end... where are they starting.

Play.

[Guest]

Where do you come up with Dermarr being a

good ball handler?His movements were very

unflulid like and he lack control of his own

body.He is like really stiff with his movements.

And I said before...Toni's minutes decreased throughout

the season and he became more ineffective as the

season went along.

[Playmaker0017]

HotLantaDude,

Dermarr wasn't the worlds best ball handler, but he was better than Ira or anyone else we have put at that spot. His problem was that he had little to no basketball sense at times. And would pull a Dion Glover, patented run into the lane and throw some stupid shot up.

As for your information on Toni, it is completely inaccurate. Toni was hurt at the beginning of the season and did not play until mid-season. Whne he was in, we were a much more effective team. His only problem was that he was what BlackHawkDown calls a sissyballer. He is the only man alive that could break his arm blowing his own nose.

But, you still haven't answered the question... what is our biggest offensive weakness?

Play.

[Guest]

Dermarr is never or was never going to be anything

other than a bust with a 3pt shot.His ball handling

and understanding was terrible and he really has

no "moves" or anything.

All the Hawks are the worst offensive weakness.

JT-inability to play PG

Big Dog-Turnovers

Reef-Will not step up and take games over and

is often unaggressive

Theo-Terrible hands and no offensive moves.

The Hawks are such a flawed team.

[Playmaker0017]

HotLantaDude,

I completely disagree. He played better defense at the SG position than Ira. He has better ballhandling than Ira. He has a better shot than Ira.

You don't need "moves" to be a contributer. His understanding would have come to him with experience, just as it was starting to.

He would never be considered GREAT. But, he could contribute more to us than Ira Newble at the SG.

Plus, with his size, he could help compensate for the size of Terry.

Play.

[Guest]

Dermarr was a bust.He was not worthy of the 5th

pick in the draft.He couldn't defend quicker SG's..

He was good at guarding slower guards like Ron

Mercer but that is about it.

DJ made very little improvement.heck he was only

averaging 8PPG on a team without a 3rd option and

had no game other than a 3pt shot.I didn't see him

improving.He will go down with the Randy Whites and

the Adam Keefe......Pervis Ellison and others.

[Playmaker0017]

I ask you, who on our current roster is better at the SG.

Play.

[Guest]

They all suck equally to be honest with you.We need

better than DJ.We wouldn't be much better with him

now.We need a better player than he or anybody on

the roster at SG.He was a 5th pick of the draft....a

bust.

[KB21]

I don't think it is a coincidence that our good play late in the year coincided with DerMarr putting up around 13 ppg, 6 rpg, 2-3 apg, and 2 spg. I'll have to check the splits to make sure, but DerMarr was playing like a player ready to break out over the last 35 games of the 2001-2002 season. He was easily the best defender on the team. I don't know where the idea that he could only guard slower SGs came from.

[Guest]

Dermarr was and is a bust like Bender.He must be

forgotten about ON COURT.Offcourt you can't forget

about what happend to him.I think he will recover

and reclaim a spot on a NBA roster but will never

turnout to be productive enough of the spot he was

drafted.